


Checking Up on You

by 90shpchick



Series: Checking Up On You [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drarry, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 12:31:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15796584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/90shpchick/pseuds/90shpchick
Summary: Harry is depressed to say the least and an unexpected visitor shows up at his house. Part 1 of ?





	Checking Up on You

**Author's Note:**

> This is about a year post-Battle of Hogwarts. Everything is the same except Harry and Ginny didn't end up together because that would upset my son Draco and he's had enough hard times in his life okay?

Harry sat in his apartment absentmindedly stroking the fur of his cat. He was never much of a cat person- not after being forced to look at pictures of them at Mrs. Figg’s, but Hermione had convinced him to get one after the war as a “companion.” Ron had argued that a dog would have made a better one, but as soon as he mentioned it his girlfriend had shot him a look. It was hard to look at a dog after Padfoot was gone. 

It was probably best to have a cat anyway, thought Harry. They practically took care of themselves. Harry could barely look after himself these days. His always untidy hair had reached a new level of untidiness and the jumpers he wore were threadbare. His jeans worn with holes. 

He would start training as an Auror soon. Ron and he had taken a bit of a break while Hermione had gone back to finish school. Surprisingly their best friend had not pressured either of them to attend with her. Ron was busy helping his mom and sometimes George. While Harry was… well he was officially recovering. 

Mrs. Weasley agreed that he could live on his own if he showed up for dinner every Sunday. That was the one human interaction he had on a regular basis, not counting going to the grocery store and encountering the Muggles. 

Harry was startled out of his daze by a knock at the door. It caused him panic for a moment because he had no clue who it could be. He hesitated, not sure if he should answer. Whoever it was they knocked again, albeit softly this time. 

Nothing could prepare him for the sight of the person on the other side of the door. It was a face he recognized easily. Pale, piercing eyes. Even paler hair. Pointed chin. 

“Draco,” Harry said evenly. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello to you, too, Potter,” the other muttered, pushing his way into the tiny flat. Typical Malfoy not even being asked in; just taking over the place. 

“Should I even ask what you’re doing here?” Harry stood to the side with his head cocked as he examined the blond boy closely.

“I’ve come to visit.” It was a simple and very unexpected answer. Why would Draco Malfoy be visiting him? 

“Okay. Well do you want some tea?” he asked. After a pause he added, “Or something stronger?” They might later regret that, but what the hell? Who cared? Everything was topsy-turvy today apparently. 

“Something stronger definitely.” And with that Draco sat down next to Harry’s cat. 

“That’s Hedwig the Second.”

“You named the bloody cat after your dead owl?” 

Harry didn’t answer but scowled to himself. Why did he let this git in? Even as he was scowling he poured firewhiskey into two glasses. He padded into the small living area and sat next to Hedwig the Second. He was glad to have him between him and his childhood enemy. Just as that thought crossed his mind, though the cat betrayed him and leapt off the couch. Now there was nothing but empty space between the two guys. 

An awkward silence surrounded them as neither was sure who should speak first. Finally Harry took the plunge. 

“So, why are you here, really? Why are you visiting me? We’re not exactly friends you know.”

“I know that,” the blond grumbled. He grabbed the glass of alcohol from Harry who was obviously too dumbfounded by his presence to have given it to him. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

At this very moment Harry was drinking some of the whiskey, which was unfortunate since he nearly spit it out in Draco’s face. 

“Why the fuck do you care how I’m doing?’

Draco’s face clouded over. “I’m not such a heartless bastard, Potter. Can’t we put this whole ‘nemesis’ thing behind us? We’ve both been through shit and clearly from the state of things here you are not coping well. I mean you’ve got dirty dishes in the sink, several centimeters of dust covering everything and…”

“I’ll stop you right there, Malfoy. You don’t have to point out everything wrong with my flat that you rudely barged into. I know it’s a mess, but it’s my mess. The only thing I have.”

“You haven’t lost your flair for the dramatic,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes. “You may have lost a lot, we all have, but you still have your Weasleys and your Granger.”

“So you came to teach me a lesson in being grateful?” 

“No. I have come to make peace with you because as we have both learned, life is short.” 

By this time they had both finished their drinks. The way things were going now they were going to need a lot more firewhiskey. 

“Give me your glass,” Harry practically demanded, holding out his hand. Draco complied. He was clearly on the same page his the dark-haired boy. 

In the kitchen area Harry took a swig directly from the bottle, which did not go unnoticed by his “new friend.” Hedwig the Second was observing all of this closely. Even though it took him a moment the cat decided that Draco was alright and promptly curled up in his lap. A small smile appeared on the blond’s face. Unlike Harry, he had always liked cats even though he was never allowed to have any. 

When Harry returned to the couch he sighed at the sight. His own cat was turning against him. Hedwig the First would never have done this to him.   
Both boys drank for awhile in silence. Things would get interesting when they got drunk- it was definitely not a question of if, but when. They could start yelling at each other of course. That was the most likely option. 

“Why’d you hate me in school?” Draco asked nonchalantly. He did not take his eyes off Harry’s cat who was now getting hair all over his black clothes. 

Had Harry not also been staring at the cat, which led him to stare at Draco's clothes which then led him to notice how incredibly fit the other boy looked- he would have been startled at the question. But these strange thoughts in his head combined with the alcohol affecting his brain provided a setting where this kind of question was in fact not surprising at all. 

“I ‘spose it’s ‘cause you hated me first.” 

“But I didn’t. I wanted to be your friend.” 

“But you insulted Ron!” 

“So? You’re not Ron are you?”

Harry considered this for a second. It was the firewhiskey that slowed his wits because anyone could tell he wasn’t a Weasley. 

“I’m not, but still. Not a good impression to make.”

“What can I say? I’m an only child. No social skills.” 

Harry couldn’t argue with that. Technically he was an only child too, but growing up with Dudley had taught him what not to do when it came to friends. 

Now that they had finished their second drinks Harry didn’t even bother getting the glasses this time. He just took grabbed the bottle and returned. Tonight was a night for breaking down barriers so why not just share from the bottle? After drinking some Harry passed it to Draco. The blond looked skeptical at first (it was becoming clear to him that he could hold his liquor better than the Boy Who Lived), but with a shrug he followed suit. 

Even though Draco was slightly less drunk than Harry, as they consumed more alcohol the closer the two ended up being to each other. He ended up mussing up Harry’s hair even though he really hadn’t intended on doing something so intimate yet. The truth was Draco had come to be close to the other boy. He hadn’t stopped thinking about him since the Battle of Hogwarts. They hadn’t seen each other since then. His mother had told him about how Harry had assured her that he was alright and in turn she had betrayed the Dark Lord. For some reason that had stuck with him over the past year. He turned it over and over in his mind. Why would Harry do that? 

Meanwhile Harry was slowly becoming more and more sleepy. This was not turning into the shouting match he had expected. Instead he was feeling more comfortable than he had felt in maybe ever. He leaned into Draco’s hand like a cat as the other played with his hair. Draco noticed this and would not have been surprised if the other had started purring.   
There was more that Draco wanted to say and much more he wanted to find out, but he too was getting tired. Pretty soon Harry was asleep on his lap. The blond wasn’t certain when the other boy had gotten so close to him, but he didn’t mind at all. He took a moment to admire Harry, not for the first time. Everyone noticed Harry Potter, the Chosen One. This Harry, though, was battle weary, thin and stubble covered. It was endearing somehow. Draco wanted to take care of this boy now. If only he would let him.

Next Draco closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the sofa. It was cold in Harry’s apartment, but with the flat’s owner and his cat curled up against him he was warmed up instantly. It didn’t take long for him to fall into the most restful sleep of his life. 

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was that smell? Was Harry’s first thought upon waking up. He didn’t open his eyes right away; he was still too tired for that. The smell though… could his flat be burning? No, that wasn’t it. It smelled too delicious. With a sigh he finally opened his eyes and looked around. Harry was shocked to find someone in his kitchen. Instinctively he felt around for his wand only to remember that he had put it away months ago. One good thing about living a dull life could distance himself from magic, but still old habits died hard.

His panic subsided, however, when the man turned around and was revealed to be Malfoy. Not that his presence was all that comforting.

“Are you making breakfast?” he sputtered incredulously. 

“I see your observation skills are working this morning, Potter.” Malfoy smirked, twirling a spatula. 

Harry could not believe it. Not only was Draco cooking, which he didn’t think the Lord of the Manor knew how to do, but he was cooking in his- Harry James Potter’s- kitchen. 

“You’re not trying to poison me are you? I wouldn’t really mind actually. It smells good so at least I’d be put out of my misery by eating something tasty.”

The blond scoffed with a roll of his eyes. It was only a front though, he was really concerned about the other boy. Was Harry being funny in his typical sardonic way or was he really that depressed? By the state of the flat he was currently in and of the owner of said flat the latter was very possible. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” Harry pointed out. “And what are you cooking?” He finally got up from the couch, stretched and wandered into the kitchen. Then he peered into the frying pan. “I didn’t have bacon in the fridge.”

“You had absolutely nothing in the fridge which explains why you are so thin. You look awful by the way.” 

At this point Harry was slightly freaking out about the fact that Malfoy was making breakfast for them. It was a bit of a relief that he’d just been insulted.

“If people could only see the Great Potter now, they’d be shocked. Living all alone with only a cat for company…”

All this was said without Draco taking his eyes off the food. He had determined that the bacon was just the right crispiness and was now putting it on a plate. 

“Sit back down,” he ordered. “You’ll just get in the way and I still have to make the toast and fry the eggs.” 

Harry glared at him and stalked back to the sofa. As soon as he plopped back down his cat leapt into his lap. “Oh so you like me now, do you?” he muttered softly to the animal.

“What was that, Potter?”   
“I asked where did all the food come from?” he replied even though that’s not what he said. It was a question he wanted an answer to, though.

“From the supermarket obviously. Bloody hell. Have the months of solitude addled your brain?”

“You don’t have to be such a prat. I just didn’t think that you of all people would go to a Muggle store and then proceed to cook without magic.”

“I’m full of surprises, Harry.” And with that Draco blushed. He never, ever called the other boy by his first name. Maybe he wouldn’t notice.

Of course Harry noticed. He didn’t say anything though because, as he was slowly starting to realize, there really was more to this “new” Draco than met the eye. He chose also not to comment on any of this.

“Is the food done?”

“Just about.” 

The silence that followed wasn’t totally awkward. Only a little. After a few minutes Draco brought a plate over for Harry as well as one for himself. They sat on the couch and ate quietly. Both boys were enjoying each other’s company although they would never admit it. 

Draco had heard somewhere that in order to get a guy interested and to keep him interested one had to leave him wanting more. After he got over the fact that this was what he was trying to do- to get Harry Potter interested in him- he knew he had to leave soon. That was the last thing he wanted to do though. 

Both were finished eating at the same time. Without thinking Harry grabbed Draco’s plate and took it, along with his own, to the kitchen. He would do those and the rest of the dishes later. 

“I must be off,” Malfoy said stiffly. “I’ll check on you tomorrow, okay?” He and Harry were now face to face. After a pause the blond hugged the other boy and before Harry could react he had apparated. 

This was all very confusing, but instead of brooding over it, Harry hummed to himself and started to wash the dishes for the first time in awhile.


End file.
